Normally, watching Matt Prior bat is like watching someone cross the road when the lights are green and cars are zooming back and forth; like something out of Horace Goes Skiing. Yesterday he waited for the lights to go red and walked very... very... slowly across the road. Prior made 21 from 70 balls – his slowest extended Test innings apart from last-day rearguards – a performance that suggested he has been seriously spooked by the emergence of Craig Kieswetter. (Personally I think he should have nothing to worry, because Kieswetter isn't a Test contender. Yet.) It'll be fascinating to see how his innings pans out.

84th over: England 276-5 (Bell 88, Prior 21) Shakib opens the bowling to Bell, who flips a full-toss to wide mid-on for a single. He missed out there.

85th over: England 279-5 (Bell 89, Prior 23) Shafiul Islam, so impressive yesterday, starts from the Stretford End. Ah, the Stretford End. Neill Webb's stunning debut volley spinning away from John Lukic and into the corner, eh? Frank Stapleton slamming the winner against Barcelona in 1984. Gary Pallister's cross nicking off a Sheffield Wednesday defender and up in the air. Shut the what up? Anyway, Shafiul is still working with the old ball, and Prior crunches a couple into the leg side at the end of another uneventful over. In other news, do you love Dalston? No, me either. It's a hole. But don't take my word for it, read another gonzo masterpiece from sometime OBO loser Alex Netherton, writing on James Brown's excellent new site, where top-class writers are allowed to write what they want and, as if by magic, produce top-class writing.

86th over: England 287-5 (Bell 97, Prior 23) Bell comes down the track and drives Shakib over mid-off for a one-bounce four, a shot of real authority and class. Two balls later he comes again and blasts another four to long-off, this time all along the ground. Outstanding stuff.

87th over: England 288-5 (Bell 97, Prior 24) Those two boundaries predictably lead to Shakib taking the new ball. Shafiul steams in and nips a couple back towards Bell's special place, but little else happens. "Nasser really is turning into one of the best interviewers on TV," says Keith Newman. "No idea if you saw his interview with KP this morning, but a couple of time he completely stumped him (sorry, couldn't resist). Much better than the inane bullshit with footballers you get on Match of the Day. I really hope he gets to interview Bell tonight and asks him about his average against Bangladesh." I didn't – the credit crunch – but I said last year that I think he's already the best sports interviewer I've seen. He's persistent, fearless, and best of all he has real empathy for the viewer. That last one should be obligatory but it's not, as anyone who watches Match of the Day will know. I think the single best thing about Sky's excellent commentary team is the respect they have for the viewer. For all Adrian Chiles' faults, he's very good in this regard too.

88th over: England 292-5 (Bell 100, Prior 24) The new ball is given, rather surprisingly, to the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak. I suppose they want him to get extra bounce. Bell cuts him for three to reach a very fine century, his 11th in Tests and his third against Bangladesh. I suppose there will always be an asterisk against Bell's name until he makes 397 not out against Australia, but he has been in a very good place these last nine months and looks a class act. "Thought www.truelad.com the other day was bad?" says Phil Walsh. "Well rest assured the Americans do it far far worse www.textsfromlastnight.com." I am less speech.

89th over: England 292-5 (Bell 100, Prior 25) Shahadat grunts his way into the attack and bowls a maiden to Bell. During it the camera cuts to the balcony, where Graeme Swann and Alastair Cook are playing Top Trumps. Fantastic! Sadly it's cars rather than Marvel Superheroes and Supervillains, but still. On Sky, Bumble is now talking about his Top Trump: "Nobody'll be wanting me. One six, no wickets, old as the hills..."

"I think Ian Bell should seriously consider suing Shane Warne or at least taking him to the court of human rights for ruining his reputation and temporarily derailing his career," says Tom Van der Gucht. "Let's face it, Bell has never recovered in the eyes of the public from the extended period of bullying, both on and off the pitch, he received from Warne in 2005. Before that series he was viewed as a young and highly talented diminutive batsmen with all the shots and his whole life ahead of him, but thanks to Warne everyone has subsequently considered him to be little more than the Sherminator, a pipsqueak of a man and a walking wicket. When trying to recover from this he had to try and make himself look tougher and adopted that funny puffed out chest manly walk and strut around the crease, but that just made him look even more foolish. Hopefully, finally the read IR Bell is standing up and stepping out of the shadows of Warne's mauling, comfortable in his own skin and doing what he does best, scoring silky high-class runs. And possibly drinking Carling."

Grrrrrrrr. It's the Shermanator. Grrrr. That particularly misspelling annoys me approximately 104 times more than it should.

90th over: England 299-5 (Bell 100, Prior 32) That's a more familiar stroke from Prior, an expansive drive at Shafiul that screws off a thick edge to third man for four. Then he goes for a hook at a ball that was above his eyeline, and was thus unable to control the stroke. Mahmudullah ran in from deep square but the ball landed a fraction short as he dived forward. With the next ball, Shafiul turns Bell round with a cracker, and it flies off the edge just short of slip. "Is that really true about the credit crunch?" says Rebecca Heller. "I prefer to think you just couldn't bring yourself to get your arse out of bed any earlier. It is a Saturday morning after all." Well obviously it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on work conditions at the Guardian, so I can't realPLEASECANSOMEONEUNZIPTHISGIMPMASKIT'SSOBLOODYHOTTODAYly comment.

91st over: England 304-5 (Bell 101, Prior 35) Shahadat is grunting ridiculously. For heaven's sake man. Prior and Bell take singles into the leg side, and Shahadat is causing few concerns. "Surely Prior's got to be worried about Davies, with his excellent start to the county season?" says Tommy Taylor. "Kieswetter's ability to somehow not be caught off the billion edges he offers while smacking straight sixes doesn't exactly scream 'Test'." Not yet, but he has huge talent. I don't think Prior will worry about Davies, because in isolation his performances are fine (even if his run-scoring has dropped off a little bit). The threat is not that he will be dropped for poor performance – which would bring Davies into contention – but that he will simply be overtaken by a thrilling emerging talent. Like Thorpe and Pietersen in 2005 I suppose. Thorpe wasn't dropped because he was playing badly, just because a youngster has presented an irresistible case.

92nd over: England 306-5 (Bell 103, Prior 35) With Swann and Shahzad (first-class average: 32.90) to come, England could still get 500 here, certainly 450. Bell misses a hook at another steepling bouncer from Shafiul. "People who say particularly when they mean particular annoy me approximately 104 times than they should (88th over)," harharhars Phil Sawyer.

93rd over: England 312-5 (Bell 107, Prior 36) Shahadat has gone into bouncer mode, and one is so high that Billy Bowden calls it wide. When he pitches slightly fuller, Bell leaves his bat dangling horizontally and it hits the bottom of the bat before falling just short of the wicketkeeper and hurrying away for four. This, it's fair to say, is not exactly OBO gold. You're all out in the sun, aren't you? Selfish.

94th over: England 318-5 (Bell 108, Prior 41) Prior pulls a short one from Shafiul to fine leg for a single. He is far from fluent but does look pretty secure at the crease. Maybe he's reinventing himself as an accumulator. England could really use another one. Actually that's more like it, a thumping pull shot for four with a lovely smack off the bat.

95th over: England 325-5 (Bell 112, Prior 43) Shahadat rams in another half-tracker and Bell pulls it for three. On this track the bouncer has to be above the eyeline. A couples of singles bring up a comfortable, controlled century partnership. Then Shahadat is wided on height, a decision Nasser Hussain justifiably calls "ridiculous". Now, I know it's only Bangladesh, etc, etc, etc, but England are on course to get 400 in the first innings of four consecutive Tests for the first time since the run-laden Ashes summer of 1985. God I love statsguru, I could get high on it for hours. I hope they don't ever criminalise it.

96th over: England 328-5 (Bell 112, Prior 46) A pleasant stroke from Prior, who deliberately steers Shafiul wide of point for a couple. Then he fresh-airs a roundhouse pull at a ball that keeps very low. Had it been straight he was a goner. By that I mean he was out, not dead, obviously. The next ball is a beauty, ramming into Prior's chest and glove as he is caught in two minds whether to pull or duck. And Shafiul follows up with another good bouncer that Prior shapes to pull and then decides to leave. "I'm following you, sat in a cafe next to my wife whilst she writes a blog post about oiled birds," says a man with no name. "She wouldn't be impressed if she knew I was following the Test. She's American, poor dear."

97th over: England 332-5 (Bell 112, Prior 50) The left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak will replace Shahadat. He has a slip and short leg for Prior, who cuts a poor delivery through the covers for four to reach an unusually watchful but very important half-century. He will take great pleasure from that, and rightly so.

98th over: England 336-5 (Bell 113, Prior 53) The players have drinks – the great Harold Larwood would sometimes nail a pint in the drinks break, back in the days when sport was played by humans – and off we go again. Shafiul, who really has bowled well, beats Bell with a delicious leg-cutter. Later in the over Prior hooks another bouncer high into the huge gap behind midwicket for a couple. "The guy has a wife with an interest in oiled birds?" says Ian Truman. "What's he doing writing into the OBO? I mean if my wife was interested in that type of thing I certainly wouldn't be reading this on a Saturday morning…" No, no I suppose I probably wouldn't have publisher that were I receiving more than an email an hour.

100th over: England 343-5 (Bell 115, Prior 58) Shakib Al Hasan replaces Shafiul Islam, and his third ball is a beauty, drawing Prior forward and turning appreciably past the outside edge. That'll have ripped Graeme Swann from his game of Top Trumps. Prior misses a sweep at the next ball and is hit on the pad, but he was comfortably outside the line. "Could you tell the rest of the working world what a wonderful half-term I have had," says Matt Broderick. "First Test at Lord's, curry galore, BBQ bank holiday, waterskiing, Twenty20 at Lord's and a Brazilian (the food). There may be some snooker today, if I can drag myself from my bed!"

101st over: England 352-5 (Bell 116, Prior 66) Prior pings a reverse sweep through point for four off Razzak. He timed that beautifully. He then comes down the track and crunches a slightly unconvincing drive back whence it came, all along the floor to the boundary. "So, if there's time on your hands, tell me more about Kieswetter then," says Alex Butler. "Why isn't he Test material and how long until he is? And one more thing, Bresnan for the Ashes? I know he's accurate an all, but really? Thanks!"

Bresnan is an underrated bowler – mainly, absurdly, because of the way he looks – but probably only an option in a five-man attack. I'm sure he'll be in the Ashes squad. Kieswetter just seems a bit raw for Test cricket, and there's a world of difference between skittish 20-ball 30s and matchwinning 150-ball 80s. Plus Prior is a better keeper at this stage. I'd imagine Kieswetter will go to Australia as back-up keeper, unless he has a stinker in first-class cricket this year, but there's no reason to shove him into Test cricket too early, not least because Prior has done bugger all wrong.

103rd over: England 362-5 (Bell 120, Prior 72) Prior, making room outside leg stumps, snicks a forcing shot at Razzak wide of slip and away for four. "Afternoon Rob, afternoon everyone," says Ben Hendy. "If you are looking for a brilliantly entertaining submission-based website full of idiots the world over, I must, must, MUST recommend www.failbook.com to you. And www.notalwaysright.com for that matter. They are both genius and deserve reading daily."

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: guardian.co.uk is not responsible if those links take you to sites full of zesty bongo.

104th over: England 366-5 (Bell 123, Prior 73) Some wag (the 'n', 'k', 'e' and 'r' are invisible) tied a balloon to my chair yesterday afternoon. It keeps flapping off the back of my head, taunting me with its jauntiness. I am going to hurt it.

105th over: England 367-5 (Bell 123, Prior 74) Mahmdullah, the offspinner, replaces Razzak and draws a gentle leading edge as Bell attemps to work to leg. It dropped well short of Mahmdullah, though. A good first over. "It's nice to know that Mr Broderick is taking advantage of some free time, while his wife is off promoting her new film," says Christian Seller, getting the obvious joke in early ahead of the ones of others who will doubtless soon pitch in with the same. "He's also showing admirable dedication to the role of Ferris Bueller with his fun-packed antics." Life moves pretty fast, but not when England are playing Bangladesh.

106th over: England 371-5 (Bell 125, Prior 76) Four more no-risk singles from Shakib's over. "England's current cricketers couldn't nail a pint in the drinks break a la Larwood," says Robin Hazlehurst, "because given the number of 'comfort breaks' they take as it is, there'd be no one actually on the field if they were slurping quick rounds of Bladder Burster."

107th over: England 374-5 (Bell 127, Prior 77) England are milking the spinners with ease, and a lapped single from Prior brings up the 150 partnership. The difference a good No7 makes. Look how many 150+ partnerships England have from the sixth wicket onwards since Duncan Fletcher changed our attitude to tailend lower-order batting, and contrast with the 15 years before that. "Oh Rob, I am so bored," says Lori McConnachie. Feedback. "Currently carrying out a research project for a post-grad course and am now trying to disguise the fact I found the answer via google. Normally cricket is my distraction. When will cricket become exciting again?" At 1.30pm, when Alan Gardner begins his OBO for the afternoon session.

WICKET! England 376-6 (Bell b Shakib 128) Shakib bowls his very own Ball of the Century. It drifted onto middle and leg from around the wicket and then turned past a startled Bell to hit the top of off. Shades of that famous, never-to-be-forgotten delivery on this ground, from Ashley Giles to Damien Martyn in 2005. That was almost unplayable.

108th over: England 376-6 (Prior 78, Swann 0) I was just about to say that the game was having a pre-prandial, but that delivery woke everybody up. Particularly Graeme Swann, you suspect, and not only because he's the next man in. He'll be looking forward to bowling on this pitch.

109th over: England 386-6 (Prior 79, Swann 8) Prior, missing a sweep at Mahmdullah, is well outside the line. Swann then gets off the mark with a reverse sweep. Well, why the flip not? He then stands tall and carts a loose delivery through the covers for four. "Just goes to show that beer these days is much less robust than it used to be," says John Starbuck. "I remember when it had plenty of stickability."

110th over: England 393-6 (Prior 79, Swann 15) I'm not sure that anything in cricket at the moment is as much fun as watching Graeme Swann bat. He rocks back to his second ball, from Shakib, and pulls it through midwicket for four like it was the most natural thing in the world. Then he is beaten by another spitting snorter, as is Prior later in the over. This pitch is starting to rag a bit. "My wife's oiled birds blog post is up," says Bob O'Hara, no longer the man with no name. "You sound bored enough that you need something to read." High praise indeed.

112th over: England 395-6 (Prior 80, Swann 16) Shakib nearly hurries a quicker one through Prior, who just jabs his bat down before he is pinned LBW on the back foot. Prior then ignores another delivery that turns absurdly. Nasser Hussain makes the point that it's only really the slower deliveries (under 50mph) that are turning sharply, something that Graeme Swann will hopefully have noticed.

WICKET! England 399-7 (Swann LBW b Razzak 20) After another perky, 17-ball cameo, Graeme Swann is trapped in front on the back foot by a smart quicker ball from Razzak, and that'll be lunch.

112.4 overs: England 399-7 (Prior 80) England had a very good morning, adding 124 runs for the loss of Ian Bell and Graeme Swann. Alan Gardner will be here for the afternoon session. Bye.

LUNCH

Hello all, Alan here. How goes it? With the loss of those two wickets just before lunch, a wee nugget of interest has been reintroduced to proceedings. After the serene progress made by Ian Bell and Matt Prior – only broken by an absolute pearler of a ball from Shakib Al Hasan – it looked like another 500+ score was on the cards, followed by two valiant innings of 300 from Bangladesh and ultimately a canter to victory for Andrew Strauss's side. Now, well ... they might only make 490-odd. At least we'll get a look at England's latest 'new Flintoff'. Hopefully Shahzad's a better player of spin, given the bunsen Old Trafford is currently resembling.

An OBO appeal: "Anyone else on the Isle of Wight ferry?" writes Luke Richardson. "Just checking the OBO while on the ferry to the Isle of Wight. What a horrific place to spend an hour (the ferry, not the island). The sooner these hordes of screeching rug rats learn to read the OBO so the rest of it can read it in peace, the better. Or you could publish a best bits Podcast for them to listen to." Ah, the Isle of Wight. Small. White-ish. Possible tax haven? Future Test venue? The ECB's open to new ideas ...

Lancashire chairman, Jim Cumbes, has been talking about The (much derided) Point. Apparently, this was the inspiration. Bumble's in favour, though possibly only out of contrarian Northern-ness and a desire to thumb his nose at Nasser Hussain's sneering.

113 overs: England 399-7 (Prior 80, Shahzad 0) The players are back out to complete Abdur Razzak's over. Shazhad, who I can report is definitely holding the bat the right way up, to face. Here's Richard Potter. "What's Black and Steaming and comes out of Cowes? ... The Isle of Wight Ferry. Ded dum tish." Shahzad lets his first delivery pass by outside off-stump, before a strangled lbw appeal goes up off the final ball. It actually took a chunk of the bat before falling short of silly point.

114 overs: England 404-7 (Prior 81, Shahzad 4) Prior squeezes a single out to the legside off of Shakib, giving the Bangladesh captain a first look at Ajmal Shahzad. The Yorkshireman leans forward and strokes a classical drive through point for four. Lovely shot. Ian Copestake has been reminded of something else by The Point: "I rather like the Old Trafford stand. Very modern. Like a massive disk drive."

115 overs: England 405-7 (Prior 82, Shahzad 4) The Bangladeshis have three men around the bat for Shahzad, who is stepping forward nicely to smother any turn Razzak is generating. No dramas for the debutant so far.

116 overs: England 408-7 (Prior 84, Shahzad 5) Shakib is happy to let Prio milk singles in order to open up the new man to attack. An outside edge squirts low along the floor towards gully to get Shahzad back off strike. Prior then mows a square cut out to the boundary for another one. Good knock, this, from Prior. I think some of the perceived pressure on his position is illusory – hard to drop a wicketkeeper who averages around 40 and has improved his glovework no end in the last year or so.

117 overs: England 413-7 (Prior 89, Shahzad 5) A crunching swing of the bat sees Razzak dispatched over long-on for four as Prior edges towards a third Test hundred (and a first against anyone other than West Indies). I feel this email from Ed Packard should really have been sent to Rob Smyth: "Blowers and Tufnell are discussing their favourite kinds of seafood on TMS at the moment, strangely neither has mentioned scampi flavoured Nik Naks yet."

WICKET! England 414-8 (Shahzad 5, c Razzak b Shakib) Shahzad's brief innings comes to a quick end with a loose drive straight to the fielder in the covers. He didn't get anywhere near the pitch of the ball, and the shot was sliced as Shahzad leaned forward, Razzak pouching it comfortably. Flintoff-esque footwork, though.

118 overs: England 415-8 (Prior 90, Anderson 1) Looks we might get a look at Shahzad with the ball today, then. Unless Jimmy fancies hanging around. Which he undoubtedly does, stealing a single from Shakib's final delivery.

119 overs: England 417-8 (Prior 91, Anderson 2) I think I can hear the dread sound of a Mexican wave going round Old Trafford. Prior resists the urge to try and muller his way to his ton, taking another single into the deep. Anything doing out there? I know you can read this and sit in the sun. I've heard all about those tricksy iPhones.

121 overs: England 419-8 (Prior 93, Anderson 2) Those nervous nineties are finally whispering in Matt Prior's ear, as he takes a yahoo at a delivery from Razzak which goes steepling up before dropping short of the man running in from long-on. A couple of lbw appeals against Anderson are then turned down by Billy Bowden.

WICKET! England 419-9 (Prior 93, c Jahurul b Shakib) Hmmm [OBOer frowns] ... That was a silly dismissal with the prize in sight. Again Prior tried to up the tempo and motor through to his century but he only succeeded in directing a reverse sweep into the hands of Jahurul in the gully. D'oh! The improbably (perhaps unfortunately) named Anus McGuigan neatly sums up that wicket: "Reverse sweep on 93? Brainless."

WICKET! England 419 all out (Finn 0, lbw Shakib) Finn plays around his second ball and is plumb in front to bring England's innings to a rapid conclusion and hand Shakib his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests. Lovely little player, Shakib, as I was saying earlier.

INNINGS BREAK An under-par score from England? Or a reasonably good effort after yesterday's wobbles? I'm in the former camp; Shakib's excellence and a bit of nip from Shafiul Islam aside, Bangladesh's bowling lineup is very weak. Though the probably got the constitution of their attack just about right, given the pitch's acceptance of spin. Let's see whether it trampolines a little for I Love Steve Finn, eh ...

1st over: Bangladesh 5-0 (Tamim 5, Imrul 0) Jimmy Anderson rolls out his swingers for the first over and immediately tucks Tamim up with a short one rising towards the Bangladesh opener's ribs. Anderson is starting around the wicket. His second ball is similarly directed but wings a little further down leg; Tamim tries to pull it but it scooches off his pad before flying for four, with Bowden crediting the runs to the batsman. "I've just got back from a very nice holiday in the remote Tuscan countryside," bongiornos Jim Lewis, "to discover that Rafa has gone, Rio is out and Bangladesh are improving all the time in the cricket... I've only been gone a week! What's the craic? Oh and is this newbie Finn the real deal?" Finn, yes, he's a keeper. His steady temperament shines even brighter when compared to Anderson's mercurial wont. Just a touch of movement for England's attack leader in that over.

2nd over: Bangladesh 6-0 (Tamim 5, Imrul 0) "Some of us - the fair-skinned types - are sensibly not out in the sun, but sat indoors with the curtains closed and all the windows open; the sound of TMS echoing through the neighbourhood and the OBO glow of PC screens, beer cooling in the fridge ... the English summer until the World Cup starts, when it all gets a bit rowdy." John Starbuck's email echoes the sentiments of Ross Moulden, whose missive landed shortly before ... "My exams are finished, it's lovely weather outside, so of course here I am sitting in my room following the cricket and drinking a can of Magners, having just taken 45 minutes to make a sandwich because the tin opener was broken. I love my life." I think Bull was saying something about synchronicity yesterday. Finn corrects after sending a couple of looseners down leg to make one rise sharply off a length and whistle past Imrul's outside edge. Just the one from Finn's first over.

3rd over: Bangladesh 7-0 (Tamim 6, Imrul 0) Was it really four years ago that Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar did for Pakistan here at Old Trafford? Finn and Swann aren't quite facsimile players but they should both pick up wickets. Robin Hazlehurst asks: "You were suggesting before that Prior's innings will have done him some good. Will his dismissal have more than undone that good by raising questions about his temperament and intelligence? Silly boy." It certainly displayed a disproportionate anxiety to reach his landmark, particularly when you consider Anderson is more than adept at holding an end up. He can clearly feel Craig Kieswetter's hot breath on the back of his neck.

4th over: Bangladesh 21-0 (Tamim 12, Imrul 6) Tamim pulls Finn sweetly for four and Finn then further smudges the glowing report card I've been preparing for him by overstepping by some distance. Kayes follows up that no-ball by slashing a Tamim-like drive high over the gully region for another boundary.

5th over: Bangladesh 27-0 (Tamim 18, Imrul 6) Botham has been chuntering on the background about Anderson going around the wicket, so says Hussain. As if to highlight the folly, Tamim slaps a shortish, wideish delivery through point for four more. The plan seems to be to try and get Tamim out hooking – but you can't then serve up gimmes outside off.

6th over: Bangladesh 34-0 (Tamim 18, Imrul 8) Good news for England? Well, not the fact that Finn's first ball went for five wides. But it did so after exploding off the wicket, jagging sideways and flying between Prior and Strauss, at first slip, to the rope. Finn then beats Imrul's outside edge before the Bangladeshi hooks lustily, perhaps forgetting that he's not Tamim Iqbal, with the ball landing a little way behind Ajmal Shahzad near deep square-leg. Imrul gets two for his audacity. "Just asking: why do so many of your readers slag Ian Bell? he looks like a pretty competent batsman to me, looking at his record!" Geoff Roberts, is 'just asking' for an e-pasting, no?

7th over: Bangladesh 47-0 (Tamim 31, Imrul 8) Lovely batting from Tamim, who turns a full one off his legs for four and then creams another one square on the offside. Anderson bites back with a well-aimed bumper that turns Tamim sideways, snicking his upper arm before landing in front of the slips. Anderson is then just unable to reach a checked drive which loops over his head but doesn't quite make it to the boundary. This plan for Tamim seems to be of the 'cunning' variety, to me ...

8th over: Bangladesh 51-0 (Tamim 35, Imrul 8) Finn continues. There's a wee bit of devil in the pitch (and a fair bit of pace and carry for Finn too) but England's opening pair haven't bowled a tight enough line so far. As if in reply, Finn's over is one ball from being a maiden ... but then Tamim lances said ball for four through the offside, cut well in front of square, to spoil that. Keith Flett would like to make an announcement. "The Beard Liberation Front has said that Sunday June 6th is the official start of the 2010 Beards and Sandals season [ends August 31st] and expects to see evidence of one or the other and potentially both at OBO Towers." I can't speak for Rob or Andy, but my beard will never be accompanied by sandals.

9th over: Bangladesh 55-0 (Tamim 35, Imrul 12) Just as Anderson appears to be beginning to exert some control against Imrul, the opener opens his arms and takes another boundary through the gully. More good Jimmy than bad Jimmy that over. "I think Robin Hazlehhurst (3rd over) and yourself are a little harsh on Prior," wheedles Mark Hardy. "Getting 100 is an arbitrary achievement. Whether Prior goes for 93 or 103 makes little difference to the match. With wickets falling at such a rapid rate at the other end, I think he was doing the right thing in taking a risk and trying to move the score along a bit. Unrelated - is Tamim going to be playing country cricket in England anytime soon?" The thing is, it betrayed his state of mind. Rather than calmly marshalling the tail for a few more runs and a valuable personal milestone (and don't underestimate how important hundreds are to batsmen) he chucked it away.

10th over: Bangladesh 61-0 (Tamim 40, Imrul 13) Swann is on for an early twirl. No first-over breakthrough from the Notts man, though. Bit of a mixed bag from Graeme, as Tamim comfortably keeps his strike rate above 100 (40 from 36).

11th over: Bangladesh 65-0 (Tamim 41, Imrul 16) With Finn having done more off the pitch it's slightly surprising to see Anderson continue – but he is the senior man. Still Jimmy refuses to pitch it up. He's far too cautious these days, unless it's boomeranging around. A switch to over the wicket brings no immediate success and Bangladesh are bouncing along comfortably here at six and a half an over.

12th over: Bangladesh 66-0 (Tamim 42, Imrul 16) A bit of encouragement for Swann, who gets a bit of turn and bounce to go with a strangled appeal for leg-before (there was bat involved). "What's wrong with beards and sandals Alan?" snorts Tom Rothery. "I've been wearing sandals (along with some fetching red linen shorts) and my beard all day. You'd no way dis beards and sandals if you met Viv Richards in his beard sporting pomp in a pair of sandals on an Antiguan beach I'd wager." I'm sure Viv would have done the look absolute justice, Tom – but my hobbit feet prefer to be shod with a more substantial variety of shoe.

13th over: Bangladesh 70-0 (Tamim 44, Imrul 18) Ajmal Shahzad gets thrown an opportunity a little earlier than he might have expected after Jimmy (six overs for 33) and I Love Steve (4-24) failed to make the new ball mutter coherently, let alone sing. Regulation, bolt-upright action from Shahzad, no doubt coached to robotic perfection whilst he was still suffering the effects of teenage hormones. Strayed down leg a bit too often but just the four single from his first over in Test cricket.

14th over: Bangladesh 80-0 (Tamim 53, Imrul 19) Imrul Kayes gets a bit of fortune when his top-edged sweep lands in a vacant area of the legside field. Tamim then exacts revenge for Swann's impertinence in attempting to ruffle this opening partnership, launching a six over long-on to bring up his fifty. He's a real class act, isn't he? "It would be nice if the Banglers could vary their approach and collapse early before putting up late resistance." No chance of that happening today, Ian Copestake. The tourists are set fair ... and if their middle order manages to contribute this time they should get pretty close to England's first-innings mark.

16th over: Bangladesh 88-0 (Tamim 61, Imrul 19) Imrul Kayes sweeps and misses, eliciting semi-orgasmic noises from Swann and Prior, behind the stumps. Duncan Paul Smith has a (horrendous) suggestion. "I think as a proud beardy myself I should suggest something to cover the sight of your hirsuite feet. White sports socks with the sandals?" Seriously, are there any worse fashion crimes than socks and sandals? Although I must admit to wearing a pair of shiny 'puffa' trousers in my yout' ...

17th over: Bangladesh 92-0 (Tamim 65, Imrul 19) Ach, that's unlucky! A topping yorker from Shahzad has Tamim tripping over his feet and the bowler appealing for lbw. It didn't hit the pads – it didn't hit anything – but squeezed through under Tamim's bat before missing off-stump. Shahzad tries for a similar effect two balls later but only succeeds in proffering up a half-volley which Tamim dispatches straight back down the ground.

18th over: Bangladesh 96-0 (Tamim 65, Imrul 19) Perhaps unsurpisingly given the state of this strip, Swann is looking England's most threatening option. One delivery drifts down leg, narrowly missing everything and disappearing for four byes. Technically that over was a maiden, so as much worth celebrating as anything we've seen from England in this session. Bangladesh won't have the chance to make this their second 100-run opening stand of the tour, as the umpires have called tea, but Tamim and Imrul have been excellent again this afternoon and go in with a "big duck egg" in the wickets column, as Ian Bishop puts it. Rob Smyth will be back after the interval. I'll leave you with some schoolboy innuendo from the BBC, courtesy of Mark Hardy: "Over on TMS, Blowers tells us that Anderson has been 'polishing the ball on the right side of his behind', leaving an unpleasant mental image on my unfortunately puerile mind."

TEA

19th over: Bangladesh 101-0 (Tamim 66, Imrul 23) Hello again. This is an extended evening session of 38 overs, which can go on until 6.56pm. I see Tamim's been up to his old tricks. What a star. Riotously entertaining batsmen are supposed to be almost intrinsically inconsistent, but Tamim's scores against England in the Tests this year have been 86, 14, 85, 52, 55, 103 and 65 not out. Ajmal Shahzad starts after tea, and is clipped wristily through midwicket for four by Imrul Kayes. That was a gorgeous shot. "So, while Tamim continues to move into the top tier of opening batsmen (aged only 21 - and he's been playing international cricket for four years!), over on the other channel, a 20-year-old Sri Lankan wicketkeeper has just powered us to a simple six-wicket win over India in only his second match, scoring 111 with five sixes," says Ranil Dissanayake. "Given how good Umar Akmal for Pakistan looks, and the raw talent of Adrian Barath for the West Indies, it's difficult to remember when we last had so many good young batsmen emerging."

20th over: Bangladesh 104-0 (Tamim 68, Imrul 24) Swann resumes, and might bowl for the entire session with the pitch already turning a fair amount. "150 for three here boys!" squeaks Ian Bell, bless him. There are three singles in a quiet over. "This Test match isn't really capturing my interest - under par batting from England, under par bowling from England and yet it still feels like England will win," says Tim Woollias. "Losing a session doesn't matter as much as it should. To stir my interest I've a fiver on Bangladesh to score under 360."

21st over: Bangladesh 110-0 (Tamim 72, Imrul 26) Shahzad has a strangled shout for LBW against Imrul Kayes, with the ball pitching outside leg. Bangladesh look very comfortable at the moment, as snug as bugs in rugs. "I think I love Shakib al Hasan," announces Daniel Heatly. "Not as much as you love Tamim or Eoin, but I think I do a bit. I think it was the fact the he barely did anything other than a little smile after his 'Ball of the Century' and the other wickets that he took. Didn't even raise his arms. I like that understatement. I'm no Fred Trueman, but I prefer that to the send offs normally given these days. What say you?" What you said.

22nd over: Bangladesh 115-0 (Tamim 75, Imrul 28) Tamim takes a daft two to the cover sweeper and might well have been run out with a better throw. Being a champion, I got down and dirty with some mucky stats last week and found out that England have a much better record in Tests with four frontline bowlers than five over the last five years. With four it's P29 W13 D12 L4, and with five it's: P34 W10 D10 L14. But they have looked in serious need of a five-man attack at times in this series, and this is one of those times. "Just had my neighbour complain about me sun-bathing naked in my back garden," says Anus McGuigan. "Surely this is an Englishman's right? Ran into the house crying, but now having checked the score, I wonder if I should draw inspiration from Tamim's knock and defiantly return to the lawn. I mean, it's not my fault a storm knocked the fence over last month and he's decided today is a good day to have a barbeque with friends."

23rd over: Bangladesh 124-0 (Tamim 77, Imrul 35) The Sky team have just stitched Nasser Hussain up beautifully. The third man Mike Atherton introduced a clip about uneven bounce on this pitch, and then cut sharply to footage of that hideous grubber that Hussain, who is on commentary, got from Carl Hooper in Trinidad in 1997-98. It's one of the most absurd deliveries imaginable, almost bouncing twice before pinning him in front of off and middle. "Would you have referred it?" chuckles Bumble. I think Nasser would out of the seventh (legitimate) ball of an over in that series as well. If he'd fallen in a barrel of etc's... Anyway, Kayes edges Shahzad short of Swann at third slip and away for four. Bangladesh are motoring along.

WICKET! Bangladesh 126-1 (Imrul Kayes c Shahzad b Finn 36) Steven Finn strikes in the first over of his second spell. He came on with a view to suckering Tamim Iqbal into a dangerous hook, as in the second innings at Lord's; instead he got Imrul Kayes in precisely that fashion, hooking a ball that was too high to control and top-edging it to fine leg. It's a cheap dismissal really, but good work from Finn.

24th over: Bangladesh 126-1 (Tamim 78, Junaid 0) "In the 3rd over your compadre said Prior 'can clearly feel Craig Kieswetter's hot breath on the back of his neck'," says Ian Copestake. "To me this sounds less like pressure and more like the love that dare not speak its name. Sweet really."

25th over: Bangladesh 127-1 (Tamim 79, Junaid 0) Swann has switched ends after an iffy first spell of 7-1-26-0. Tamim misses a loose cut at the first ball, which was too close for the shot, and is then beaten by a peach that drifts onto middle and then rips past the edge. Gorgeous stuff. "Neighbour now threatening to call the police," says Walter Mitty Anus McGuigan. "Had an itch downstairs while sunbathing, but I think he thought I was doing something else." Someone else email in. Please.

26th over: Bangladesh 129-1 (Tamim 80, Junaid 0) Finn bombs Tamim with short stuff – England have a man at fine leg, deep backward square and deep midwicket – but Tamim restricts himself to a controlled hook for a single. Siddique is then beaten having a wee fiddle at a good lifter slanted across him, and inside edges the following delivery into his stomach. "I wonder how many of your readers are following you without clothes on?" says Geoff Roberts. "If I were your last emailer I' d blame my parents or the clerk who couldn't spell Angus. A nudist cricket game (mixed) might be amusing." Define 'might'.

27th over: Bangladesh 130-1 (Tamim 81, Junaid 0) Early impressions are that Swann is happier from this end, and that was another decent over, including consecutive deliveries that spat past the outside edge of Siddique. Now, to more important business: has anyone seen Kick-Ass? I am going to sleep my way through it tonight and wondered whether I'll regret that.

28th over: Bangladesh 137-1 (Tamim 88, Junaid 0) Finn falls over in delivery stride for the third time in this short spell. Tamim forces the next delivery deliciously through the covers off the back foot, his first boundary of the session. "Top idea from Geoff Roberts (26th over)," says Anus McGuigan. "Will be on Clapham Common (London SW4) at midnight if anyone is interested!" You'll bring the middle stump, etc and so honk.

29th over: Bangladesh 142-1 (Tamim 93, Junaid 0) Tamim premeditates a lap at Swann, and it goes extremely fine for four. That moves him into the nineties. He is chasing his fourth Test century and his third this year. In fact, in 2010 he averages over 80. Postman! Tell the neighbourhood! I heart Tamim! "I keep hearing on TMS about Finn falling over," says Rebecca Heller. "Agnew says it pretty casually: 'And Finn bowls... and falls over'. To someone without the privilege of Sky this just seems absolutely ridiculous. Could you describe it please?" That is pretty much the whole dog and pony show: he runs in, bowls, and slips just after delivering the ball. It's most peculiar.

30th over: Bangladesh 146-1 (Tamim 95, Junaid 1) Tamim is only playing controlled hooks shots against Finn for the moment, and another of those brings him a single. Siddique then gets off the mark with a steer to fine leg, and Tamim misses another of those half-ratpower hooks. I love the phrase "half ratpower", especially when it just slides out the corner of Richie Benaud's mouth. "I had my top off earlier but in the privacy of my own flat," says Phil Sawyer. "And I pretty quickly put it back on again. Never mind the general population, even I don't want to see that for too long. In that OBO Top Trumps game I'd score pretty highly on self-loathing, although I think you might beat me." I think you've mistaken me for someone else.

WICKET! Bangladesh 153-2 (Junaid Siddique c Prior b Swann 1) Swann takes his first wicket of the series with a fine delivery. Textbook stuff really: it drifted onto off stump and gripped sharply to take the thinnest of edges as Junaid Siddique pushed forward defensively. Matt Prior, standing up to the stumps, took a sharp reactiont catch. That's a good wicket for England, because Siddique is probably the most accomplished Bangladesh batsman when it comes to the dying art of batting time.

31st over: Bangladesh 153-2 (Tamim 102, Jahurul 0) Earlier in the over, the wonderful Tamim Iqbal made his second succcessive century. He reached it with a classy cut stroke for four off Swann, but only after getting away with one of the most absurd haymakers you'll ever see the ball before. He came flying down the track, and the ball dribbled off the inside-edge past Prior. He faced precisely 100 deliveries, scoring 11 fours and a six, and right here, right now, he is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, unless you're at Anus McGuigan's house. "Right, Anus," says Geoff Roberts, demonstrating the importance of having upper- and lower-case letters. "We'll need some floodlights, but candles might be rather romantic."

32nd over: Bangladesh 155-2 (Tamim 103, Jahurul 0) James Anderson replaces Steven Finn, who has gone off the field. There is a bit of reverse inswing to the new batsman Jahurul, but Anderson's line isn't quite right so it's not threatening. "Do you or any of the international OBOers have a hot tip on how i can access TMS from America?" says Ed Wilson. "I had to sacrifice either cricket or football to the Gods of Work, and the World Cup won out. Currently sitting in an apartment in Greenwich Village, desparate to know that the cake situation is up at Old Trafford."

33rd over: Bangladesh 167-2 (Tamim 106, Jahurul 5) This pitch is turning a helluva lot for a day-two pitch (it feels like it's later in the match than that, mainly because it's Saturday). Tamim fresh-airs a mighty mow at one delivery that turns and bounces over Prior's left shoulder and away for four byes. Then Tamim edges low past Anderson at slip for a couple, and Jahurul cuts a nice boundary square on the off side to complete an eventful over. Thank you, by the way, for the Kick-ass reviews.

WICKET! Bangladesh 169-3 (Tamim c Prior b Anderson 108) A disappointing end to a stunning innings. Tamim tries to cut a very wide delivery from James Anderson and snicks it low to Matt Prior, who takes a terrific low catch while tumbling to his left. Tamim walks off to a deserved ovation; he played superbly again.

34th over: Bangladesh 169-3 (Jahurul 5, Ashraful 0) "It looks like Finn may be part of the Ministry of Silly Walks [bowling run-ups office]," says Keith Flett. "I need hardly mention that if he was wearing sandals all would be well."

35th over: Bangladesh 169-3 (Jahurul 5, Ashraful 0) Swann has a big appeal for LBW against Jahurul Islam, who padded up outside off stump. There was far too much guesswork involved for Billy Bowden, who rightly said not out. Hawkeye had it shaving the outside of the off bail. This is an awkward time for Jahurul, with four men round the bat. A maiden.

36th over: Bangladesh 169-3 (Jahurul 5, Ashraful 0) Ashraful leaves a reverse inswinger from Anderson that misses off stump by this much. He left it on length, and ultimately that was the right decision, but it was perilously close. Another maiden.

WICKET! Bangladesh 169-4 (Jahurul Islam b Swann 5) That was coming. Swann had been giving Jahurul loads of problems and now he has bowled him in classical off-spinner's fashion. It was a replica of Swann's famous dismissal of Ricky Ponting at Edgbaston last year really: Jahurul went for the drive and was bowled neck and crop through the gate as the ball drifted and then turned sharply to hit the top of middle. Swann has his second wicket. He really should end up with at least 10 in this match.

37th over: Bangladesh 175-4 (Ashraful 1, Shakib 5) Shakib sweeps his first ball very fine for four, and then Mohammad Ashraful gloves one through the vacant leg-gully area for a single to get off the mark.

38th over: Bangladesh 175-4 (Ashraful 1, Shakib 5) Ashraful pushes Anderson on the bounce to gully. There is the occasional hint of reverse swing, but not much really. Ashraful pads up to another delivery that raps him on the pad. It looked too high and Asoka de Silva was having none of it.

39th over: Bangladesh 179-4 (Ashraful 1, Shakib 9) Shakib drives Swann authoritatively through extra cover for four. Anyone out there? I've not had an email for ages. I'll publish anything. What are you having for tea tonight? I might buy a Cornetto during Kick-Ass.

40th over: Bangladesh 179-4 (Ashraful 1, Shakib 9) Ashraful chases a very wide one from Anderson, fresh-airing his cut shot. It's all rather attritional just now. Bangladesh need 40 more runs to avoid the follow on; that should be a formality.

41st over: Bangladesh 181-4 (Ashraful 2, Shakib 10) Swann beats the driving Shakib outside off stump. "Not really mentioned by Sky, but Geoffrey Boycott was banging on about England missing a trick by not picking a second spinner on the TMS podcast," says Ross More. "And he has a point - they trained for two days here before the Test. Did no-one sense it might be a dry track? It seems England are slaves to their six batsmen system sometimes. I think Cook said in Bangladesh (when Andy Flower was captaining by proxy) that six batsmen are less likely to lose Tests. Which is a slightly negative approach no?" Well it is, but I suppose that's where England are at in the development of their Test team. They don't yet have the confidence or momentum that the 2004-05 side had. The problem is that I'm not sure Prior is a Test match No6 and I'm certain Bresnan/Broad/Swann aren't Test match No7s. So, unless Andrew Flintoff comes out of retirement, what do you do?

42nd over: Bangladesh 185-4 (Ashraful 6, Shakib 10) A pitiful long hop from Anderson is slapped to third man for four by Ashraful. He then pads up again outside off stump, prompting another big LBW shout. It looked a better shout than the previous one, but there was still more than enough doubt to justify Asoka de Silva's decision to give him not out. Replays confirm that it was too high. (Hush hush, eye to eye, etc) "Anus McGuigan (Over 31 etc.) is the type of 'clothes optional' person that really gets my wick up!" oohmatrons David Keech. "I lived in Munich for 10 years and fully indulged in the ample opportunities for FKK (Google it!) that city offers. However there were real problems with people with no clothes on in public areas of the parks demanding others to join them! Look, respect other people, please, and do not cause incidents - it does nobody any good!"

WICKET! Bangladesh 185-5 (Shakib Al Hasan c Anderson b Swann 10) Lovely stuff from Swann. He had been teasing the skittish Shakib and then, with the last ball of the over, just held one back a touch. Shakib went for a big drive and could only snick it to slip, where Anderson held a sharp two-handed catch to his left.

43rd over: Bangladesh 185-5 (Ashraful 6, Mushfiqur 0) "I agree they can only work with what they have - just feel sometimes that a crazy Ashes morning in Headingley has put them off the idea for good (unless it's a concrete slab in Dhaka)," says Ross More. It's true: that daft morning last summer has apparently put them off using five bowlers anywhere except the subcontinent. It is a huge problem, because a four-man attack will have some seriously hard yakka in Australia. A five-man attack certainly did last time out. I still think four is the lesser of the two evils, although it puts huge pressure on Swann (who, we tend to forget, had a largely dreadful Ashes series in 2009).

44th over: Bangladesh 185-5 (Ashraful 6, Mushfiqur 0) Anderson bowls a maiden to the becalmed Ashraful, who has six from 33 balls and is so strokeless that he wears one short ball on the back. Oof. "Isn't Free Body Culture available in the NHS as a superbug?" says Ian Copestake.

45th over: Bangladesh 188-5 (Ashraful 7, Mushfiqur 2) Little Mushfiqur works Swann to leg to get off the mark. "Rob, I'm going to a 'dead rock stars' party tonight," says Dan Smith. "Any ideas? I was thinking of stretching the definition of rock with Jam Master Jay, but I'm not sure owning a tracksuit makes up for being a terminally uncool caucasian." Racist.

46th over: Bangladesh 192-5 (Ashraful 8, Mushfiqur 3) There are 11 overs remaining, including this one from Anderson, which isn't very good. Four from it, including consecutive no-balls. "If you look at the records when England have had five bowlers one has usually ended up being seriously underbowled," says David Keech. "Is the three seamers/one spinner cast in stone? Who says four bowlers can't be two seamers and two spinners? Let Collingwood, Bell etc. provide the relief overs the fifth bowler invariably turns out to be?" Generally you'd be loath to have the likes of Collingwood as third seamer (from memory, the last time England did this was in Sri Lanka in 2003-04). As for having one bowler underused, that's kind of the point: you can mix and match in accordance with form/conditions/etc. 2005 was a great example of this, with Hoggard doing very little for three Tests and then bowling like an undiluted champion in the last two. That was one of the more balanced seam attacks England have ever produced.

47th over: Bangladesh 199-5 (Ashraful 11, Mushfiqur 7) Ashraful screws a drive off Swann to third man for three. Mushfiqur then lines himself up for a slog-sweep and thinks better of it, instead defending. He goes for it later in the over and dumps it over square leg for four. "Does your recent plea mean that I will finally get one of my comments printed on the OBO?" says Nicholas Lezard. "Lord knows, I've tried. Thanks to the time-honoured practice of googling one's own name, I found that during the last test one of your more far-sighted correspondents suggested that, as a cricket-loving Guardian writer, I have a go at writing for you. This would be the crowning glory of my career, frankly. But meanwhile, any snippet of my correspondence would be honour enough. I have little to say about the state of the game at the moment, now that we seem to be taking some wickets again and it's stopped being so interesting (from the Bangladeshi point of view), but I would like to mention that I have just used a hedge strimmer for the first time in my life. The best technique, I have discovered, is to treat the strimmer as if you are steering a very high long-hop between gully and third slip. And I'm 47." Any other mundane chores that can be perfected through good, solid batsmanship?

WICKET! Bangladesh 200-6 (Mohammad Ashraful c Morgan b Shahzad 11) A lovely moment for Ajmal Shahzad, who gets his first Test wicket with the third ball of a new spell. It wasn't a great delivery, short and wide, but Ashraful slapped it straight to backward point. Shahzad is smothered by his team-mates, who all warmly scrub his hair as he beams proudly.

48th over: Bangladesh 205-6 (Mushfiqur 9, Mahmudullah 3) "Rob, Dan should go as Charles Lyell," says Dan Catton, lining up an unashamedly diabolical pun. "He's dead and his work on geology popularised the idea that the world (and therefore the universe) are far older than was then believed - making him quite the star when it came to rocks. Also, no one at the party will know what Lyell looked like, so Dan needn't fuss about making his costume any good."

49th over: Bangladesh 210-6 (Mushfiqur 9, Mahmudullah 7) Mahmdullah runs down the track and dismisses a full toss from Swann through extra cover for four. Swann then has a huge shout for LBW when Mahmdullah gets in a tangle and is hit on the back leg. Billy Bowden said not out, and if anything the ball turned too much and was going down leg. There was certainly no issue on height, but replays show that was a great decision. It was going miles down leg, so sharply did it turn, but it all happened so quickly that it looked plumb at first. Seven overs to go. "I always find an exaggerated leave is always good practice for giving up one's money during a mugging," says Ian Copestake, taking a broad definition of 'mundane chore'.

WICKET! Bangladesh 210-7 (Mahmudullah b Shahzad 7) Another one for Shahzad, whose eyes are ablaze with delight. This was a good delivery: fast, straight and moving away just a fraction to beat Mahmudullah and ram into the top of middle stump.

51st over: Bangladesh 214-7 (Mushfiqur 9, Shafiul 4) Mushfiqur defends dilgently against Swann, who goes around the wicket as a consequence. A maiden, and there are five overs to go. "Apparently when the baby is ill and I'm holding her, I look like Billy Bowden signalling six," says James Wrout. "Which way the baby's facing depends on whether she's pooing or being sick. Good luck with that image." I'm still struggling with the first part.

WICKET! Bangladesh 214-8 (Shafiul Islam b Shahzad 4) Now this is a jaffa: full, straight, and swinging late to batter into off stump. Shades of Simon Jones to Mike Kasprowicz at Old Trafford in 2005. Far too good for a lower-order batsman, and Shahzad has three wickets in as many overs in this spell.

52nd over: Bangladesh 214-8 (Mushfiqur 9, Razzak 0) Bangladesh still need six runs to avoid the follow-on, although I doubt England would enforce it. "Can we just let Tamim bat twice per innings for the foreseeable future please?" says Lee Rodwell. Maybe we could start a Facebook group. Oh. "In the office. Looks like it could rain just in time for my shorts to look (even more) ridiculous when I leave." At least it's not a string vest.

WICKET! Bangladesh 216-9 (Mushfiqur c Anderson b Swann 11) Another one gone, and Bangladesh still need four to avoid the follow-on (not that England will etc). Mushfiqur is drawn into driving a wide, full delivery from Swann and it flies off the edge to slip, where James Anderson takes a very sharp catch.

53rd over: Bangladesh 216-9 (need 220 to avoid the follow-on; Razzak 0, Shahadat 0) Three overs to go. "If Mr Lezard is reading, can I remind him of this," says Jonathan Wilson. "I was that literature student, and yes, we did get all the bonuses wrong. However, it was not a case, as Lezard says, of recognising 'Byron, George Eliot, James Joyce, Tennyson'. I got Joyce right as the starter. Then there was an picture of either Hardy or James - I don't remember which, but I said the other. Not a disgrace - they're both fat, greying Victorians. Then I failed to recognise a Cubist interpretation of TS Eliot. Then there was a portait of Iris Murdoch, which I probably would have got, had somebody else not leapt in with AS Byatt." I was never good with faces.

54th over: Bangladesh 216-9 (need 220 to avoid the follow-on; Razzak 0, Shahadat 0) Things I miss about old cricket: Michael Vaughan's 'it's reversing' hand signal. I think Andrew Strauss just did his own version of it, but it had none of the glamour or metrosexuality of Vaughan's. Anyway, it's a maiden from Shahzad to Razzak. I'm slightly perturbed by how much Shahzad resembled Ian Holloway.

WICKET! Bangladesh 216 all out (Shahadat LBW b Swann 0) Swann gets his five-for with a big-spinning delivery that traps Shahadat on the back foot. Replays suggest it turned too much and was going down, but Billy Bowden gave it out LBW. So Bangladesh have lost their last nine wickets for 63 after another majestic innings from Tamim Iqbal, and that will be the final action of the day. Andrew Strauss doesn't have to decide until tomorrow whether England enforce the follow on. I'm off to kick some ass at the cinema. Thanks for your emails; join Andy Bull for tomorrow's action.